Infantry Tactics

[KiwiJoe]

After playing quite a few games of cm: beta and gold I have found that infantry are probably the most important units on the battlefield. Heavy support units and tanks can do a lot of damage, but without the ground pounders they have limited effect.

Anyway I'm trying to find the best way(s) to use my infantry effectively.

I find that on defense I tend to just leave them in place - if they are getting shot to bits I basically let them fight to the death. When is a good time to retreat? (other than when 2x 105mm is falling on your postion)

On attack I try and provide covering fire with morters, mg's etc and then run my infantry squads up to kissing distance of the enemy. Then I let them resolve the combat with grenades and bayonets. When is it better not to close assault?

What, if any, advantages are there to attacking an enemy position from multiple sides instead of just from the front. IE. will 3 squads from the front be as effective as 1 in front, 1 in rear, 1 in the flank?

Are there any infantry tactics that people out there have found particularly good?

[Titan]

Nice to see another Kiwi??? Gidday

I was a section commander of a rifle section in NZ Army for about 8yrs.

Probably one of the most important thing's you could do is do a proper battlefield appreciation for your squad or formation that is engaged

1)Straight up the guts can be costly.

2)as for leaving your squads there in the same place until they die,You are staying there to long.Do the damage with them until there position becomes precarious,then bug out save them to fight again.

As for flanking moves make sure the enemy is suppressed enough to render there fire less effective before charging in, but certainly nothing wrong with moving around flanks to close assault.Enemy defender's generally base the postion facing your expected direction,not from you comming around the side.

But before flanking study the terrain for blind gullies Small knowles etc so you can close in to shorten the distance undetected.

Once you are happy the enemy is not returning effective fire charge in guns blazing, but make sure its only a very short distance.

But before all that works, you gotta have local control of the dominate features.

Hope theres something there for you,Most people probably do all this anyway.But there are many answers to your question.You can really go on forever in depth and detail so i just gave a general opinion

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"Some people don't see the light until they first feel the heat"

[Juju]

I like counter attacks with fresh platoons the enemy knows nothing about. Nothing better than a nice surprise. God knows, happpened to me more than enough.

[Spook]

After playing quite a few games of cm: beta and gold I have found that infantry are probably the most important units on the battlefield. Heavy support units and tanks can do a lot of damage, but without the ground pounders they have limited effect.

When it comes to covered terrain as is common in NW Europe, infantry are invaluable, although in my own CM play, the individual tanks often are the "big killers." First off, it should be recognized that an infantry squad deployed alone without support units, vehicles, or weapons won't last long against combined arms, and can be damaged by most anything. Second, the ammo of any infantry squad is pretty limited for any game beyond 20 turns. So my first guiding rule to infantry squads, either on defense OR offense, is that they must operate as part of higher formations (platoon/company) to be most effective. How you deploy your squads will depend on each battle situation, but they MUST be mutually supportive to each other in the platoon.

Anyway I'm trying to find the best way(s) to use my infantry effectively.

I find that on defense I tend to just leave them in place - if they are getting shot to bits I basically let them fight to the death. When is a good time to retreat? (other than when 2x 105mm is falling on your postion)

A rule of infantry defense---don't just place the squads in cover, but place them so that they're not easily spotted, or they could catch fire from all kinds of directions. For example, in a woods or house deployment, don't deploy at the edge but further back into the terrain. Then your chances for ambush are much better. On ridges, use "reverse slope." Also consider deployments so that if you have to retreat, you might deploying your platoon squads with one in "reserve" which can provide cover fire for the retreating squads, unless you have guns/tanks/MG's that can provide cover fire.

On attack I try and provide covering fire with morters, mg's etc and then run my infantry squads up to kissing distance of the enemy. Then I let them resolve the combat with grenades and bayonets. When is it better not to close assault?

That's a sound tactic IF the enemy troops are suppressed in some way or another. If they're not, then it's a toss-up as to gets the worse bloody nose. If you have an idea of your squad's weapon types, it MIGHT be better just to get to closer range and resolve with rifle/LMG fire. The troops that are better for close-in action are the ones who can bring along a lot of light automatic weapons, like SMG's. The German SMG squads are particularly suited to close-in action.

What, if any, advantages are there to attacking an enemy position from multiple sides instead of just from the front. IE. will 3 squads from the front be as effective as 1 in front, 1 in rear, 1 in the flank?

From my understanding (feel free to clarify, BTS), units that are fired on by multiple directions will be more likely to be suppressed, pinned, and panicked. Fire attacks aren't "summed" between two or more units (as each might fire at a different time or with differing modifiers), each attacks with its own fire strength. So definitely, a cross-fire is desired if it can be achieved.

Are there any infantry tactics that people out there have found particularly good?

One key advantage to infantry above all other units is that it can penetrate heavy terrain like woods to find an "alternate approach" or an enemy's possible flank. Their ability to infiltrate must be kept in mind.

Infantry can "double time" and move quicker than most other foot units.

What makes infantry better at close-range ambushes over MG's & heavy weapons is that the number of men per squad (usually eight or more) helps insure higher close-range firepower. But beyond moderate ranges, infantry squad firepower drops off quickly. Keep your squads "hidden" until the enemy gets closer.

Sometimes consider dividing a squad into "half-squads" to be sent forward as scouts. These will likely be killed off or panicked soon in the game due to their small size & firepower, but what they might reveal of enemy dispositions/movements will also prove well worth the price---more so than using a tank as a scout in heavy terrain.

[KiwiJoe]

Good Info

What are the pros/cons of sneaking vs crawling?

[Bullethead]

>>>>>>>> What are the pros/cons of sneaking vs crawling? <<<<<<<<<<

When crawling you are very hard to see but can't shoot at all and get tired quickly. When sneaking, you are easier to see than crawling although more difficult than when walking or running, and you shoot very quickly.

My grunts only have 3 speeds: stop, run, and sneak. I typically run them up to my side of a piece of cover and then sneak them through to the far side in case there are any enemy in it.

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-Bullethead

jtweller@delphi.com

WW2 AFV Photos: people.delphi.com/jtweller/tanks/tanks.htm

[nijis]

Spoiler for CE

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In scenarios like CE where there's lots of open ground I find the best way to use infantry is to think of them as sort of force multiplier for the armor, at least in the early stages of the game. That is, to spot the enemy tanks, force them to button up, and screen the enemy infantry against doing the same so that when your armor ultimately engages theirs, it's on the best possible terms. Then, after you've resolved the armor battle, you can use your remaining armor to support your infantry in mopping up. However, I've only played the AI, so maybe this approach doesn't work against a human.

[Mark IV]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KiwiJoe:

What are the pros/cons of sneaking vs crawling?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You can use Crawl (in a building) to make a trigger-happy MG quit firing... y'know, the guy who blows your ambush by opening up on scouts at 400+ meters, and is nearing ammo Low when the enemy is assembled for the main assault. Same for 'schrecks.

[Spook]

Ooops. Another nugget.......

Unless you've got trucks or APC's for transport, you might want to consider having infantry squads or other foot-bound support weapons hitch a ride on a tank or comparable armored vehicle. This is one way for tanks to move quickly to another map position while bringing along non-fatigued footsloggers for support. BUT....have these troops dismount before you start moving the carrying vehicles into known fire zones. Tank-riding doesn't provide much cover even against small arms.